The race for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag in the upcoming Adjumani West parliamentary by-election has gathered momentum, with six aspirants securing nominations as the ruling party seeks to find a successor to the late General Moses Ali.
The NRM Electoral Commission began the nomination exercise on Monday, August 17, and will conclude it on Tuesday, August 18, following last week’s expression-of-interest exercise.
NRM Electoral Commission Commissioner, Ambassador James Williams Kinobe, said seven aspirants picked nomination forms and expressed interest in carrying the party flag between August 10 and 14.
Six aspirants have so far been nominated: Anyama Ben, Owole Nixon, Leku James Pilli, Mawadri Justine, Obuni Richard Madrara and Izale Daniel.
Kinobe, however, cautioned that being nominated does not automatically guarantee a place on the final ballot for the NRM primary.
“Expression of interest is not final. Candidates can express interest but lose interest before the time of nomination. Even nomination is not final because engagements are going to continue until the campaigns and the primaries, until we get one candidate,” he said.
A pushes for consensus
With several aspirants competing for the party ticket, the NRM is now seeking consensus to avoid a potentially divisive primary.
Kinobe said the party will continue engaging the aspirants and other stakeholders in an attempt to reach an agreement on a single candidate acceptable to the party supporters.
If consensus is reached, he said, the NRM could endorse one candidate without conducting a primary.
If the talks fail, the Electoral Commission will proceed with the scheduled primary, with the winner becoming the party’s flag bearer.
Kinobe warned that the party risks losing its support base if an NRM flag bearer eventually faces another NRM-leaning independent candidate in the general by-election.
“A divided house cannot stand,” Kinobe said, urging the aspirants and supporters to remain united and work towards selecting an acceptable candidate.
Joint campaigns for aspirants
The NRM has also arranged joint campaigns for all the aspirants from August 20 to September 1, 2026, in a move aimed at promoting unity and giving voters an opportunity to interact with the contenders.
Kinobe said the aspirants will meet with district leaders to harmonise their campaign programmes before moving jointly across the constituency.
The arrangement, he said, is intended to prevent divisions among supporters and ensure that the candidates compete peacefully ahead of the primary.
The NRM primary is scheduled for September 3, 2026, unless the aspirants reach consensus before then.
Meanwhile, the National Electoral Commission is expected to use part of the period between August 20 and August 31 to update the voters’ register in the affected electoral area.
National by-election timeline
After the NRM selects its flag bearer, the successful candidate will face contenders from other political parties and independents in the national by-election.
The Electoral Commission is scheduled to nominate parliamentary by-election candidates on September 7 and 8, 2026.
Kinobe said the electoral process is being conducted within the legal timeframe requiring a parliamentary by-election to be held within 60 days following the death of an MP.
He appealed to residents of Adjumani West and NRM supporters to maintain peace throughout the process, stressing that the party’s preferred outcome is consensus rather than a bruising internal contest.
“It would be good if the people of Adjumani, all of them, agree to have just one nominated candidate, and we don’t go for elections to split the people,” Kinobe said.
The Adjumani West parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of General Moses Ali, a veteran legislator and former First Deputy Prime Minister who represented the area for many years.
